Monday, March 15, 2010

Book Review: Uninvited by Amanda Marrone

SUMMARY:

Jordan's life sucks. Her boyfriend, Michael, dumped her, slept his way through half the student body, and then killed himself. But now, somehow, he appears at her window every night, begging her to let him in.

Jordan can't understand why he wants her, but she feels her resistance wearing down. After all, her life -- once a broken record of boring parties, meaningless hookups, and friends she couldn't relate to -- now consists of her drinking alone in her room as she waits for the sun to go down.

Michael needs to be invited in before he can enter. All Jordan has to do is say the words....

OPINION: 4 STARS

This is a quick, somewhat dark but mostly entertaining read. There is an element of suspense and fear involved but it's undermined by Jordan's propensity for drinking till she's numb. While it isn't the most condonable reaction, I can understand it and Marrone handles this facet of the story remarkably well.

Jordan is a character that will likely turn you off in a few ways but she is also a character that shows great development and growth as the story progresses. Her motivations are clear and Marrone does a great job making the reader feel empathy towards her. It likely isn't easy to find out your ex-boyfriend killed himself but if that wasn't rough enough, suddenly he is a vampire and sitting outside your room every night. While this is a commonly used scenario, Marrone still makes it her own and I did enjoy the book.

As far as vampires go, I enjoyed the way Michael was done, particularly considering this book was released in late 2007. He resembled more of the classic vampires, before they were continued revamped, and I actually found it refreshing to delve back into that sort of world. He had to be invited to come in, a stake would kill him as would decapitation, etc. He was battling with his humanity, sometimes seeming like the loving boyfriend he had been while other times hints of his true nature would come out and the entire time, Jordan was left to resist the urge he provided to simply let him in.

Jordan's friends covered a bit of the usual spectrum- the partying type, the ones her mother compares her to, the ex best friend about whom rumors spread of an addiction problem, and the one who her mother disapproves of. Clashes with her mom also crop in much of this book, usually causing Jordan to turn to drinking. Again, not condonable but understandable, particularly when she's scared to leave her house and be gone after dark in case a certain vampire tries to hunt her down.

The plot is pretty basic and predictable but still made for a great read that moves at a good pace, and the writing fits with the age group. It didn't wow but it never detracted for me or made me want to stop reading. I also really liked the ending and thought it tied things together nicely without forcing any part of it.